Dave Waugh: It Ain’t Rocket Science

By Dave Waugh
Here is a commission piece I did for fellow tattooer named Chris Smith. He was interested in purchasing a piece of artwork from me that had a similar format and he let me pick the subject matter…

Across the top is a man named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky… He was a Soviet rocket scientist and he was considered the pioneer of astronautic theory. The lettering in the banner is Russian for the word “pioneer.”

To his left is Sputnik 1, the first satellite in outer space. To his right is Sputnik 2, the first spacecraft to carry a living creature into outer space. Below that are his original sketches for rockets and propulsion, and they are dated 1903,1914,1915. The little figures are his sketches of what people would look like in outer-space as well.

This is the first man in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He is considered a national hero in Russia still to this day and the word in his banner reads “hero.”

And this sweet little pooch is named Laika. She was the first living creature shot into outer space, and who’s sacrifice allowed us to travel to the stars. The writing in her banner reads “martyr.”

The coins that are in the small scroll are dated back to the old Soviet Republic, and they have CCCP and have the classic hammer and sickle on them. The two small copper coins at the bottom are dated 2012 and one is Russian and one is American. All the banners, filagree etc. etc. was taken from a 1947 one ruble bill, and along with all the translations, were supplied by Dmitry and Greg from XK Tattoo in Moscow